On the quad at Bradley University, students appreciate the friendly, ubiquitous squirrels.

It’s not exactly like roses: one does not stop and smell the squirrels. Then again, some Bradley squirrels — tamer and/or braver than most — probably wouldn’t mind a sniff, especially in a exchange for a bite to eat.

Other campuses have squirrels. But Bradley’s are particularly nimble and approachable. When hungry, they scamper right up to you, patiently pausing in silent begging.

Some students feed the creatures regularly. One story holds that a student in a second-floor dorm liked to feed the rodents, but didn’t like to schlep outside. So he rigged a pulley system from his window. Every morning at 8 a.m., he’d turn a hand-crank and send down a cup of nuts. At precisely that time a squirrel — the same squirrel every day — would show up for breakfast.

In 2004, a now-defunct website called Campus Squirrel Listings ranked schools on the basis of the squirrel population. BU got a four-squirrel-head ranking, the highest possible: “Home to the fox squirrel, the Bradley campus is host to a number of people-approaching, nut-begging, and sometimes snack-insistent squirrel personalities. … Squirrel presence throughout the park-like campus is robust.”

Is there any wonder some BU fans have pushed for the squirrel as a school mascot?